


Unread

by phantomxanthem



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Feels, Don't say I didn't warn you, Eventual Smut, Ex Sex, F/M, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, My First AO3 Post, This is just an angsty garbage fire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-22 13:51:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomxanthem/pseuds/phantomxanthem
Summary: Rey Jakku has always prided herself in excelling at her job at Kanata's Koffeeshop, and while she quietly wished to have the kind of bombshell looks that would get guys' attention, she held fast to the conviction that she would never mix work and romance. She didn't expect to meet Ben - sweet Ben, who worked hard and made her laugh even harder. Ben, who broke and then mended and then broke her heart so rapidly she didn't even see it happening.Years later, he's texting her. And she's frozen.





	1. Kanata's Koffeehouse

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, all! This is my VERY first time posting on AO3 and I'm super nervous, but I've had this idea floating around in my head since half past forever, and I'm really excited to share it. I'd be eternally grateful for feedback on this universe of "fuck my ex but I still love him" - which is really pretty universal, I'd like to think. Hope y'all enjoy.

#### //2019//

    The unread message had been sitting on Rey’s phone for three days, a small red “(1)” in the corner of her screen taunting her silently. It would be so easy to swipe and delete it; after all, it was from an unknown number and she could simply write it off as a mistake, a text that was never meant for her in the first place. But she knew - even though she had deleted his number months ago in the same cleansing during which she blocked him from her social media - who had sent it.  
     And it burned a hole in her pocket and kept her awake at night, the gut-wrenching mix of curiosity and terror at the message she knew she’d eventually open from her old - well, what was he, really? Her old coworker? Her old fling? Her first love? Her greatest heartbreak?  
     Ben. The message from Ben.

#### //2016//

    Rey sighed into the mirror as she tied her third hair bun into place. With her tight up-do, light make-up, and a fitted collared shirt that proudly displayed the logo of Kanata’s Koffeehouse, she had no problem reassuring herself that she looked professional - this tended to be her biggest concern; as a manager at the young age of 19, she often faced difficulty garnering the respect of her mostly older coworkers, and found solace in the fact that she could at least look like a manager even though she felt wildly under-qualified.  
    She wished she looked pretty, though. Squinting at her own appearance, she wished that she could look like the rotating cast of much prettier girls who worked at Kanata’s part time, with their long legs and perfect faces and endless hordes of guys who asked for their numbers. She wasn’t at Kanata’s to meet boys, of course. After finishing high school and realizing that college wouldn’t be financially feasible for her, Maz swiftly promoted her to the full-time managerial position. Maz, who insisted that Rey only call her by her first name, had been like a second mother to Rey since she took the job at 14, and she was endlessly grateful for the stability and opportunity that she had been provided. She was there to do a job, to make enough money to keep living in the city she loved, not to find somebody to mack on - but it still would have been nice to have somebody look at her and think “hot damn” every once in awhile.  
    “Well,” she thought to herself as she tightened the laces of her work shoes and straightened the name tag that boldly declared **Rey Jakku, Location Manager** , “at least I look like I’m in charge.”

    Rey lived in a small apartment not terribly far from her city’s downtown. It was the perfect location, really - close enough that she could get downtown quickly for her shifts, but far enough that she didn’t feel suffocated by the vibrant nightlife every night. She wasn’t sure if she genuinely preferred solitude or if she was just so used to it that anything else felt foreign, but either way, she relished the time she got to spend in her little studio, accompanied by hot soup and Netflix and her orange-and-white cat, Beebee.  
    On that particular morning, she gave Beebee some extra affection before her departure. She was training a new part timer - not for the first time, but she still had doubts in her ability to effectively teach anybody to do anything - and Beebee’s cuddles and soft mewls always soothed her nerves. She bid him adieu before locking up, climbing into her used Civic that always had one problem or another, and heading downtown to Kanata’s.

    Kanata’s Koffeehouse was strategically located on the corner of one street that was densely populated with skyscrapers and office spaces and another that was famous for its dance clubs and dive bars - by day, it was a popular destination for overworked entrepreneurs, and by night it served as a haven for hungry partiers who needed to caffeinate and refuel before heading to the next stop on their bar hop. Its proximity to the nightlife presented a major obstacle in Rey’s quest to have a relationship with her coworkers that went beyond “hi how was your weekend can you wipe down the tables okay thanks” - they tended to do their bonding at the nearby bars after closing up, and she was too young to get in the door. It was neither unusual nor surprising, then, when she walked in to hear her fellow employees laughing at a mishap from the night before.  
    “He was the one who came at me on some APPROVED GUESTS ONLY nonsense,” Rose was arguing fervently. Rose had just turned 21, and Rey got the impression that she enjoyed going to bars simply for the sake of having bar stories every day. She usually pretended to be annoyed, but secretly loved the regular dramatic retellings, so she hung back and watched her coworker, who was three inches shorter and about 30 decibels louder than herself, imitate last night’s bar staff, stomping in circles and puffing out her chest.  
    Finn, who had worked at Kanata’s for almost as long as Rey, stood across from Rose’s wild demonstration. His broad figure trembled with laughter as he countered with “sure, the guy was a dick, but did you have to POUR YOUR DRINK ON HIM?”  
    “As if vodka stains!” Rose shrieked. “It could have been red wine - I was basically being NICE.”  
    “It doesn’t matter if it stained, it was still some big bitch energy,” Finn teased.  
    “You’re the bitch.” Rose shoved his shoulder playfully. Rey knew from whispers and rumors that Rose had a thing for Finn, so she recognized the move as flirtatious, but it didn’t phase Finn, who had never once confessed to thinking a coworker was cute. Maybe he just took the employee guidebook and its insistence against fraternization among colleagues super seriously, or maybe he just wasn’t into her. Either way, he looked away from Rose, who was back to mocking the man from the night before - “oh noooooo,” she hollered shrilly, “I have a clear drink spilled on my ugly shirt! What will I doooo?” - and over to the corner where Rey was still standing quietly.  
    “Jakku, there you are!” he greeted. “There’s some guy in the back - Kyle, or something. Says he’s new.”  
    Rey came out of hiding and shrugged out of her backpack, throwing it over the counter and straightening her shirt. “Kyle?” she asked. “I thought our new guy was named Ben.”  
    “I couldn’t hear him too well,” Rose chimed in, “but he definitely didn’t say Ben. All I know is that he’s BEN waiting for half an hour.” Finn halfway smiled as Rose laughed loudly at her own joke.  
    Rey panicked for a moment - half an hour? There was no way. Was she late? She was never late. She had been five minutes early, on the dot, for each one of her shifts for five years. At the same time, though, she had rarely seen somebody have the initiative to show up on time, let alone that early. Her panic subsided into relief as she came to the conclusion that Ben - Kyle? - must have had a great work ethic, and that working with him brought no need for her to be nervous. With that thought, she headed into the back room.

  
    Her new coworker dwarfed the metal folding chair upon which he had made himself comfortable. His jeans were too short for his long legs, and he seemed to have no idea where to put his arms, with one behind his head and the other dangling awkwardly to his side. She couldn’t make out the name of the band on his t-shirt, but wondered if it was the same one she could hear from his tiny earbuds, which he must have pulled out to pass the time. She felt bad for making him wait for so long, so as soon as he looked up and noticed her, she tossed him a Kanata’s shirt to put on over his own and greeted him. “Hi there! I’m Rey, the manager here, and I’ll be showing you the ropes today.”  
    He yanked out his earbuds and shoved them in his pocket, flustered. “Hey. Hi. Hello. Sorry - that was so rude of me.”  
    “Not a problem, I feel bad for making you wait!” Rey reassured him. She grabbed a blank nametag from a basket next to the microwave and a small pile of brown bag lunches - engraved nametags usually took a week to come in, so Sharpie would have to do in the meantime. “Your name’s Ben, right?”  
    His head poked out through the top of his second shirt, seconds before his curtain of shoulder-length dark hair sprung back into place. Cringing, he said “it’s my legal name, so I put it on my application, but I don’t… use it anymore. Ms. Kanata said I can use a different name here. is that still okay?”  
    Rey thought back to her own first day on the job, when she sheepishly admitted to Maz that she had never known her own last name. Maz had suggested she take the name Jakku, after the part of the city where she had grown up, and it had stuck ever since. Maz understood that not everybody had been raised by the greatest of circumstances, and did her best to be accommodating - and Rey wanted to pass it on. “It’s not a problem at all. What do you want to be called?”  
    “Kylo,” he said, and Rey wrote it down. No wonder Finn and Rose had thought he was called Kyle - his chosen name was unusual, if nothing else - but she would be sure to correct them for Kylo’s sake. She looked him up and down as he pinned the nametag to his new shirt. She was willing to admit to herself that his tight framework of wiry muscles and emo-boy style that had always appealed to her were definitely… not unattractive. But, she reminded herself, she wasn’t here to meet boys.  
    She wasn’t here to meet boys.  
    She wasn’t here to meet -  
    “Rey.” Kylo’s voice pierced through her thoughts and brought her back to reality. Her hand was still outstretched from handing his nametag to him, and he took it in his own. He was nearly a foot taller than her, and she had to look up to see his face as he said “I hope this isn’t inappropriate of me to say, but you have the most gorgeous eyes.”  
    And that was all it took. His own eyes - a cavernous dark mixed with golden flecks - seemed to sparkle as he looked into hers. Her eyes, which were drab and misshapen and too far apart - he thought her eyes were gorgeous.  
    She wanted to ask him if he was crazy. She wanted to scold him for flirting with his manager. She wanted to completely ignore the comment and then overwork him as punishment.  
    He thought her eyes were gorgeous.  
    She didn’t recognize her own voice as she squeezed his hand lightly and asked “do you want to grab lunch when it gets dead this afternoon? I can show you where the best burgers are.”  
    She wanted to scream. She wanted to tell herself to SHUT THE HELL UP and stop swooning over the first pretty boy to compliment her.  
    He raised an eyebrow. “I saw a place up the road, First Order Bar and Grill - they any good?”  
    She wanted to - oh, screw it.  
    “No no no no, not there. When you have your first Rebel Burger, you’ll never want to go anyplace else. Trust me.”

#### //2019//

    It was late, and Rey couldn’t sleep. A takeout bag from Rebel Burgers sat, dejected, at the foot of her bed - she had tried to eat, but couldn’t. She had no idea when Ben had managed to seep into every facet of her life and contaminate them with the stain of who he was and what he had done, but she hated that she couldn’t even enjoy her favorite greasy fast food anymore.  
    She threw her phone across the room - she was getting nowhere by staring at the blank screen and agonizing over WHY she had ever decided to invite him out for lunch - but sleep still evaded her.  
The unread message was still screaming.  
    (1).  
    (1).  
    (1).


	2. Months on Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they pulled on the highway to head out of town, he couldn't resist teasing her - "so, a workplace crush, hmm?"  
> "Shut UP!" she squealed.  
> But she didn't deny it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everybody who's taken a peek at Unread so far! I'm very grateful for the kind words and support.

#### //2019//

    Rey woke suddenly, drenched in a cold sweat. She had no idea when she had fallen asleep, but she felt just as antsy and unrested as the night before. Beebee purred from across the room, as if to say “welcome back.” He was curled up next to her phone, which she realized had no battery since she had thrown it in a blind rage rather than plugging it in.  
    She didn’t bother much with putting herself together anymore - she had never worn much makeup in the first place, but these days she tossed out the routine altogether, and her hair stayed as limp and straggly as it had been when she rolled out of bed. As much as she had always told herself that her morning routine had been about looking professional, she had been forced to admit that it was really about looking attractive, somewhere down inside.  
    And she didn’t have a need for that anymore.  
  
    Her parking job was haphazard at best and disastrous at worst when she pulled into her designated space behind Kanata’s. She yanked her phone off of the car charger, still adamantly refusing to turn it on - the (1) was still there - but shoving it into her pocket regardless.  
    Finn and Rose stood outside sharing a cigarette. Rey hadn’t expected Rose to stick around at Kanata’s for as long as she did, but maybe the fact that Finn had finally returned her affection had something to do with that. The couple exchanged a quick glance upon seeing Rey exit her car. Rose untangled her arm from her boyfriend’s and went to greet her.  
    “Dude. You still look awful. Have you been to the doctor yet?” Rose asked, rapidfire as always. Rey had eked out a vague “I’m sick” four days prior when she had received That Message on her way in to work, unable to conceal the fact that she had broken out in a sweat and was struggling to catch her breath. The excuse had stuck - Rey trusted Rose, but wasn’t ready to talk about Ben yet.  
    “I’m supposed to see somebody this afternoon. Just have to power through today,” she lied.  
    “Well, come on in,” Finn offered, gesturing to the door. “I’ll fix something up for you - extra espresso.”  
    Her friends were the best - really, they were, and she was grateful for the lasting bond. Maybe she’d be able to tell them that Ben wanted to get back in touch. She knew Rose would offer all the advice in the world, in her own million-miles-a-minute way, and she knew Finn would be the best shoulder to cry on like always. But she couldn’t - not just yet.  
    “That sounds great,” she told Finn. “Let’s go inside.”

#### //2016//

    “This,” Kylo sputtered through a mouthful of beef and bun and veggies, “is the. Best. Thing. I have ever eaten.”  
    The pair had sprawled themselves, their belongings, and most importantly, their food across a corner table at Rebel Burgers, a locally owned establishment run by twins Luke and Leia, an older couple who had just as much spunk and energy as their 19- and 29-year-old selves. Rey had explained to Kylo, at some point during their morning of "this is how the online ordering system works" and "we keep the extra bagels back here" and "go easy on the cappuccino machine otherwise it'll spraYES THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I TOLD YOU WOULD HAPPEN TURN IT OFF KYLO SWITCH IT OFF," that First Order Bar and Grill used to be the only place nearby to get a full meal until Rebel had opened down the street. The reasonable prices - which were actually attainable to somebody without the salary of the sleek downtown business crowd - and homey aesthetic were their main draw, but Rey also loved the company of Luke and Leia, who had endless stories of what had once been a bitter business rivalry, and in many ways still was.  
    Plus, you know. They did make the best damn burgers money could buy.  
    Rey couldn't resist chiding him. "I told you so! Didn't this morning's incident teach you anything?" she asked, referencing the cappuccino mishap that had soaked his hair and most of his shirt in foam.  
    Kylo nodded, his mouth still full. "Mmf, yep. You're always right."  
    "Damn right I am." Rey noticed that flirtatious banter came easily to her with Kylo, in a way that it never really had. She had only been involved with one other boy in her life, and their relationship, if it could be called that, had come with none of the usual flirting and getting to know each other as a predecessor. Poe usually just called her long past midnight in hopes of naked hijinks, and she tended to oblige, ignoring how disgusting it made her feel.  
    At least he was somebody.  
    Kylo, though, was nothing like her not-boyfriend. He seemed to listen to her, and care what she had to say. In between bouts of customers and her own personal brand of Koffeehouse Education, he relished in her stories of some of the crazier people who had come to work at Kanata's, his dark eyes sparkling with every word. It made it easier for her to open up, and even tease a little.  
    "Why are you still in that shirt anwyay?" Rey poked at him. "No offense, but it kind of looks like you got puked on."  
    "Sorry, I forgot to consider my lack of fashion prowess while you were SCREAMING AT ME TO UNPLUG THE THING," he retaliated. Still, he scooted his chair back to make room for himself to peel out of his Kanata's shirt, revealing the black tee Rey had noticed this morning with a distorted white design proudly bearing the name of...  
    "Wait, wait, hold up," she interjected. "You listen to Months on Fire?"  
    "Yeah, since I was like... 13 or 14. You know them?" he asked, straightening that shirt and tossing his uniform over the back of his chair.  
    Did she KNOW THEM? They were only her favorite band in the history of time. And music. And the entire universe, really. "I love them way too much," she exclaimed through a mouthful of fries. "Did you see them the last time they were here? I was so psyched when they played - "  
    "Dark Washed," he finished. "The fucking best."  
    "I literally love you so much right now," Rey gushed, thinking to herself that if this boy who listened to her stories and thought she had pretty eyes and listened to her favorite band proposed to her right now, she would say yes without a second thought. Maybe they could get the band to play at their wedd -  
    No, she was getting way too ahead of herself. She had known Kylo for what, two point five seconds? Down, girl. Maybe go on a date where you're not wearing your work shirt first.  
    He seemed unphased by her declaration and went on to ask "so who else do you listen to?"  
    "Oh, a variety," she started. "A lot of heavier stuff like they play, but I'm also into - "  
    She was cut off by a shrill *beep* coming from her back pocket. "Sorry, one second," she muttered, fishing out her phone and opening up the message.  
**Poe:** hey babe you free tonight?  
    Babe. She hated when Poe called her "babe." Babe, she thought, was reserved for somebody who would take her on dates and buy her flowers and stick around at her apartment for longer than thirty seconds in the morning. She wasn't Poe's babe. She was his booty call, and there was no use in him trying to pretend otherwise.  
    She sighed audibly, and Kylo noticed. "What's wrong?" he asked.  
    "It's just Poe," she said, shaking her head. What could she possibly say about him to a practical stranger? "I just got a text from this guy who's kind of not my boyfriend but we kind of hook up but he makes me feel like shit but I always call him anyway?" "I'm trying to decide whether I should tell him I'm free so I can get fucked from behind in an attempt to feel something vaguely resembling intimacy?" Nothing seemed to fit, so she repeated, more quietly, "just Poe."  
    Kylo reached out to touch her hand, gently, his fingers feather-like. "You don't have to talk about it," he reassured her. Then, after a pause, "hey. Some friends of mine are playing a house show tonight. If you want to, ya know, come and not talk about it."  
    She pondered the offer for an entire half of a second. Spend the night with the guy she didn't even really like? Or check out a band with her new coworker who somehow seemed to be growing cuter by the moment?  
    There was no question.  
**Rey:** not tonight.  
    She tapped out a quick text to Poe, then opened her contacts to add a new entry. "That sounds great," she said. "Let's swap numbers. Text me the details?"  
    Kylo nodded. He took her phone and added his own number - replacing the "o" in his name with a skeleton emoji, she noticed - then called his own phone. "Sounds like a plan."  
    They finished the rest of their food amidst chatter about their favorite bands, stories from shows each of them had attended, and excitement for the night to come.

    "So let me get this straight," Rose said later, artfully making a heart shape in the foam of somebody's drink. "You actually spent your lunch break yukking it up with the dude who wants us to call him KYLO?"  
    "He was new. I was showing him around. It was part of the job," Rey retaliated. She spread cream cheese onto a multigrain bagel, placed it on its plate, and rang the bell to indicate that an order was ready. "Plus I like burgers, and he likes burgers, so I guess we both just... burgers?"  
    Rose raised an eyebrow. "You both just burgers. I've never seen you speak more than three words to anybody off the clock, but you decided to go out and get yourself a BFF because you both just burgers? That's not even a sentence, Jakku."  
    Rose was right. Rey had never felt particularly close to any of her coworkers besides Finn, with whom she had eventually bonded over their shared experience growing up without a concrete family situation and actually having held the job for more than six months. She typically ate alone. But there was something about Kylo...  
    "You know what I meant." Rey's face flushed, and she turned away to hide it. "I just wanted to, I guess."  
    Rose set down the drink she had just perfected, rang the bell, and maneuvered herself back to standing directly in front of Rey. She looked straight at her, a devious "ah-ah!" gleaming in her eyes. "I get it. You liiiiike him."  
    "I so don't."  
    "You do! You actually have a thing for that bean pole who looks like he just escaped a Hot Topic ad campaign!"  
    "Shut up!" Rey was bright red at this point, and looked around fervently. "That bean pole is IN THIS BUILDING and can HEAR YOU."  
    Embarrassed as she was, Rey realized that this may have been the longest conversation she had ever held with Rose. If a little bit of romantic workplace gossip was what it took to make a friend - even though it went against everything she had promised herself since she took the job - then maybe it wouldn't hurt to oblige her. So she sighed and admitted "okay, maybe a little."  
Rose threw her arm around her manager, smiling wide. "Girl, I totally knew it. Okay, give me all the details. How was lunch? What did you talk about? Was it a date? Omigod it was totally a date, wasn't it?"  
    "It wasn't a date, I don't think," Rey answered, unable to resist smiling herself. "But... I think the show we're going to tonight might be."

    That night, Rey caught herself fussing over her appearance in a way she normally wouldn't for a show. She was typically happy to check out local acts in her standard uniform of torn-up jeans and a t-shirt bearing the name of one of the more popular bands she liked, but Kylo had her wanting to play up the "I totally go to lots of heavy shows" look a little bit more. So she wriggled into a pair of skinny jeans, donned some chunky bracelets, and even broke out the black eyeliner she hadn't touched since high school. Her hair stayed in its usual style of three buns, but she let some stray hairs hang down over her face. Maybe he would push a strand out of her eyes while they talked in between sets...  
    Her phone buzzed.  
**KYL☠** : i'm here  
    He had agreed to pick her up when they texted earlier to figure out their plan, but she had completely lost track of time. She fussed with her hair one last time and grabbed her shoes and bag as she tapped out a quick message to Kylo.  
    **Rey:** b right there!!  
    She gave Beebee a quick pet on the forehead on her way out. "Wish me luck, little dude," she murmured.  
    He looked up at her with a face that she interpreted as meaning "for what? You've got this, momma."  
    As she locked up, she looked out to the parking lot and noticed that Kylo's car was easily one of the coolest she'd ever seen. A silver, low-to-the-ground sports car, it reminded her more of a space ship, and she caught herself wondering what he was doing working someplace like Kanata's when he had money for a ride like that.  
    Upon noticing her, Kylo quickly clambered out of the driver's seat and dashed to the other side of the car to open the door for her. Rose had told Rey to look out for this - "if he opens doors for you, it's definitely a date," she had explained - and she made sure to give him a smile as she settled into his passenger seat.  
Kylo sat back in his own seat and caught her gaze before he started his car. "You look... astonishing," he said.  
    She took in his own appearance. His long hair seemed to shine, though maybe it was just the car lights, and he was wearing a dark button-up and black skinny jeans not dissimilar to her own. His face was decorated with piercings that he must have taken out earlier during his first day on the job, and she reached out to touch one of the hoops that adorned his eyebrows as she said "you don't look half bad yourself."  
    His face flushed. Rey hadn't pegged him as the bashful type, but it looked cute on him. "Oh, these? They're nothing - I thought I was super edgy for getting them done when I was 15, and I guess I just kept them."  
    "They suit you," Rey complimented him. "Though Rose did already say you look like you robbed a Hot Topic."  
    Kylo chortled. "It wouldn't be the first time I've heard that one." Then, "you talked to her about me? Are y'all close?"  
    "Not terribly," Rey admitted. "I've actually always had trouble making friends at work. But she was sure ready to soak up the scandal of a workplace crush, so I guess... I kind of mentioned that we were going out."  
    Starting his car and rolling out of the parking lot, onto the small winding road that would eventually intersect with the main highway, he asked "why the trouble making friends?"  
    "Everyone's 21. I'm not," she explained simply. "I thereby miss out on all the stories of crazy bar mishaps, being as I cannot enter said bars."  
    "They're not all they're cracked up to be." Kylo adjusted his grip on the steering wheel and fiddled with the rearview mirror. "Sure, I had my fun on my 21st, but I've woken up confused and injured one too many times to still be into that scene."  
    Rey nodded. "That makes sense. But still, it'd be nice to be in on the in-jokes every once in a while."  
    "Well," he turned to her and winked, "we'll just have to make our own."  
    As they pulled on the highway to head out of town, he couldn't resist teasing her - "so, a workplace crush, hmm?"  
    "Shut UP!" she squealed.  
    But she didn't deny it.

#### //2019//

    Rey had no idea how she had made it through the first half of the day. She dropped too many mugs to count, and Rose had finally ushered her outside to take a break. They both settled down onto the curb out front.  
    "Rey," Rose started, "you should seriously go home. If you're this sick."  
    "I can't. I've never taken a sick day, not in seven years," she fought back. "I just... let me get through the day."  
    "No part of this qualifies as 'getting through.' Seriously, take care of yourself. I can cover for you tonight, okay?"  
    Rey considered the offer for a moment, then, deciding she didn't have the energy to protest, agreed. "Sure. Thanks."  
    "Ooh, I just need to text my roommate to tell her I'll be home late. I'm going to borrow your phone, alright? I totally lost mine last night." Rose hopped up and ran inside to where Rey had left her phone on the counter after having a staring contest with the device, trying to decide whether she should even turn it on. Rey reacted a second too late; by the time she clambered to her feet and raced into Kanata's behind Rose, her coworker already had her phone in hand, booted up, and was staring at her with a look that contained equal parts shock and concern.  
    "Rose, wait, don't look - " she started. She didn't have the words, much less the energy, to talk about the little red (1), and she hoped fervently that Rose hadn't seen the glaring message from the unknown number. Rose knew that she and Ben had broken up, but she didn't know the full story, and Rey wasn't ready to talk about it - not to anybody.  
    But she was too late. "Why is HE texting you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I don't hate Poe, I just needed SOMEBODY to be the antagonistic ex... until Ben/Kylo becomes the antagonistic ex. God dang WHAT am I WRITING.


End file.
